“HONEY FROM THE ROCK”
Daily
Reflections
Saturday,
24th October 2020,
Twenty
Ninth Week in Ordinary Time
Saturday
Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Eph
4:7-16;
Ps
121:1-5;
Lk
13:1-9
WITHERED
FIG TREE
Disasters
or accidents which take people’s lives constantly force people to ask, ‘why?’
or ‘why them?’ In today’s Gospel, Jesus addresses a recent violent event
involving the deaths of some Galileans who were slaughtered by Roman troops
under Pilate’s command. It seems that some people at the time were saying that
this was a punishment of God on these people for moral wrongs they had done.
Jesus disagrees. “Do you think they were more guilty than anyone else who lived
in Jerusalem?” Jesus asks “Certainly not!” he asserts. In fact, he says, his
hearers will all meet a similar fate unless they change their ways. The sins of
the victims were not the cause of their death but they are certainly warnings
to the rest of us to see if we are ready for such an eventuality.
Jesus
then goes on to illustrate this meaning with a parable of a fig tree. In a
sense the people he has been talking to are like fig trees that have not borne
fruit. The three years mentioned in the story may refer to the length of Jesus’
own ministry. However, they still have a chance to turn their lives around, a
chance which was not given to those who had died in those two incidents. We too
are being given a chance – a day? A month? Several years? We have no idea. What
is clear is that there is no time to waste; we have to start today. For God,
the past is not what counts or the future but only the present. As long as I am
with him now I have nothing to worry about.
Reflect,
today, upon whether you feel as though you are in need of allowing Jesus to
“cultivate the ground” around you. Do not be afraid to let Him provide you with
the nourishment you need so as to once again bear an abundance of good fruit in
your life.
Prayer:
Lord, I know that I always am in need of Your love and care in my life. I need
to be nourished by You so that I can bear the fruit that You desire from me.
Help me to make good use of every opportunity while I have the chance to renew
my life. Amen.
Copyright
©2013-2020 ©JoyCat, Joy of the Catholic Life: see www.joy-cat.blogspot.com.
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